Listening Hare in Iron Resin and Looking Down Hare in Bronze Verdigris. Garden sculptures by Christine Baxter
About Christine Baxter
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Christine Baxter, working in clay, is putting the finishing touches to her sculpture The Nixie," to be cast into Bronze resin
A sculptor’s materials are the vehicle for language and a means of communication. Be it glass, bricks, steel or clay – what is it you wish to communicate?
The reason I continue to work with plastic materials such as clay, wax, and setting plaster is for their handleable qualities. There is more potential for specific manipulation. The emotion I want to convey is expressed through the language of the human body.
There may be slight cultural differences in the common understanding of body language, but essentially every human being on the planet that has ever lived and will ever live will understand a frown or a smile.
But it is not just our facial expressions that speak volumes. Every physical stance and gesture speaks to us. We are hardwired to interpret the movements and expressions of our fellow humans as emotional communication.
The reason I continue to work with plastic materials such as clay, wax, and setting plaster is for their handleable qualities. There is more potential for specific manipulation. The emotion I want to convey is expressed through the language of the human body.
There may be slight cultural differences in the common understanding of body language, but essentially every human being on the planet that has ever lived and will ever live will understand a frown or a smile.
But it is not just our facial expressions that speak volumes. Every physical stance and gesture speaks to us. We are hardwired to interpret the movements and expressions of our fellow humans as emotional communication.
In producing a portrait sculpture, I am not just interested in rendering a likeness of that person but also in conveying emotion through that vehicle. Minute nuances, such as the angles of the eyes, lips, and neck, are infinite, and I must feel the emotion myself whilst sculpting to have some confidence that the viewer of the final piece will experience a symbiosis of emotion.
I have not found any other medium, better than clay, that allows me to experiment with human emotional responses. This is also true, although to a lesser extent, when I am sculpting animals.
I am lucky to have been classically trained, having studied Sculpture and Art History at Camberwell School of Arts, London, in the 1980s. Now, I am at my happiest working in my studio in Raglan, SE Wales, especially when creating new sculptures, with my cat, Coco, wandering through and doing his best to distract me.
I have not found any other medium, better than clay, that allows me to experiment with human emotional responses. This is also true, although to a lesser extent, when I am sculpting animals.
I am lucky to have been classically trained, having studied Sculpture and Art History at Camberwell School of Arts, London, in the 1980s. Now, I am at my happiest working in my studio in Raglan, SE Wales, especially when creating new sculptures, with my cat, Coco, wandering through and doing his best to distract me.
Contact Christine
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 07763 485638 Landline: 01291691186
Mobile: 07763 485638 Landline: 01291691186